7/13/2023 0 Comments Your not your thoughts![]() ![]() In my new book Aware, I offer a complete guide to the Wheel of Awareness and what may be happening in the brain when you practice it. Master this skill and you’ll likely spend less time worrying and ruminating about sports and life.From the GGSC to your bookshelf: 30 science-backed tools for well-being. However, through developing the observing mind you can begin to notice with greater frequency when you are hooked and what the content is of those thoughts that reel you in. Of course it is part of being human to get hooked so we cannot expect that this will not happen. Perhaps it’s “I’ll never be good enough to start on this team” or “Coach doesn’t like me” or “I have to get a hit every time up.” It is very important to become familiar with the thoughts that reel you in. ![]() Get unhooked - There are certain thoughts that just hook us. Look at it this way – if you are your thoughts then who is observing the thoughts? I repeat, a thought is just a thought, nothing more! In reality, a thought is just a bunch of words. I cannot emphasize enough that you are not your thoughts. They are nothing more than passing events that stream through our mind. Recognizing thoughts are just that – thoughts - They are not you. So if you have a tendency to predict outcomes (positive or negative) label it as such …“I notice my mind is fortune telling.” When the observing mind is activated, we can let experience be our teacher not what our minds tell us the experience should or will be like. For example, if you have a tendency to catastrophize (always think the worst is going to happen) you can notice catastrophic thinking and label it as such – “Ahh there my mind goes again catastrophizing.” Or if you frequently mind-read (believing you know what others are thinking) you can notice when you are assuming what others are thinking and note – “Ohh, there’s mind-reading.” In sports one of the biggest cognitive distortions is fortune-telling (predicting a future outcome will occur). You can strengthen the observing mind by labeling your cognitive distortions. Practice thought labeling - Left on automatic pilot we can often respond in a habitual and impulsive manner to what can seem for many to be a pretty constant stream of irrational thoughts. Doing this a few times a day can translate into being better able to activate the observing mind during any sports-related task. Noticing that from moment to moment new thoughts will come and go. Just let each thought be there without pursuing it or rejecting it. I recommend to athletes to just drop in and observe the process of thinking during any task for 20 seconds. ![]() It is a far different experience to step back during any of these daily activities to observe the process of thinking. brushing teeth, showering, getting dressed) on automatic pilot, typically lost in thoughts about the past or future. Frequently we go through our daily life activities (e.g. Give it a try, it’s quite freeing!ĭrop in and give me 20 - 20 seconds that is. Continue on as you let the thoughts just naturally come and go without getting hooked on any one thought in particular. Whatever the case may be just greet each visitor, briefly observe each one, and then watch each visitor exit. Some visitors you may like, others you may not, and some you may feel indifferent about. Observe your thoughts as if they are visitors passing in and out of a room. Notice each thought come and go like clouds floating through the sky. Start by taking a few gentle deep breaths in a space of your choosing and then shift your attention to the process of thinking. This requires that athletes put in the necessary mental repetitions to shift attention away from fighting/trying to control the “sportscaster mind” and towards developing the “observing mind.”Īwareness of Thoughts Meditation - Take at minimum 5 minutes per day to practice observing thoughts come and go as part of a formal meditation exercise. And through developing the ability to observe thinking without getting caught up in it, optimal performance will emerge as we have a greater cognitive capacity to focus our attention squarely in the present moment. In contrast to control-based strategies, the mindfulness- and acceptance-based approach suggests that our thoughts will just come and go if we simply allow them to. thought stopping, positive self-talk) it seems that excessive attempts to fix, control, and/or eliminate “negative” thoughts can interfere with task relevant focus and ultimately performance. Although for years sport psychologists have used control-based strategies (i.e. It is for the above reasons that mindfulness- and acceptance-based strategies (such as the Mindfulness Acceptance Commitment approach) are gaining increased attention in the field of sport psychology. ![]()
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